Debo Powers in a public school classroom working with elementary students

Fortunately, Whitefish passed the school levy and Columbia Falls passed 2 out of 3 school levies, including the high school levy to repair the roof.  But elsewhere in the state, school levies did not do so well leaving public schools struggling to meet their budgets.

Amanda Curtis, President of the Montana Federation of Public Employees (MFPE), placed the blame on the Legislature when she said:

“Every Montana kid has a constitutional right to a quality public education, and last night’s levies divided our kids into winners and losers,” Curtis said of the election results in large and small districts throughout the state. “This is the direct result of the 2023 Legislature’s one-two punch of failing to fund schools at the inflationary rate and then pricing Montanans out by shifting property taxes from corporations to homeowners.”